A Twist in the Tales: Birthright
by hpnarutardsjedipirate1234
Summary: AU. This is my take on what would happen had Shmi been a force-sensitive born into the inner core worlds, because I truly, and deeply believed that Shmi could be a little bit of a force-sensitive...
1. Chapter 1

_AN: so this is another story of "A Twist in the Tales", but completely unrelated to the other stories. There is another different twist here, and here's my take on this kind of twist…_

 _I don't own Star Wars, George Lucas did, and now it belongs to Disney… but even in the shadows, or the depths of this planet, and most importantly, in my jolly young heart, I will always love Star Wars…_

 _So, the twist will be Shmi Skywalker was born within the inner core of the galaxy, and she was discovered to be force sensitive and taken in by the Jedi Council…_

* * *

 _ **A Twist in the Tales: Birthright**_

 _ **Chapter 1**_

 _ **The Birth of a Skywalker**_

* * *

A teen-aged woman was by the few medical centers in one of the planets within the inner cores of the galaxy. As she cradled the small human youngling in her arms, she could see the child's inquiring eyes as it gazed around her, to the ceiling. It had been three days ago, just after a day she has given birth to the child, when she felt the room shake about her as the small babe cried. As it calmed down, so did the quake stop. She had them make a midichlorian test, and sure enough, she tested to be, what these Jedi would love to call, Force-sensitive.

Any moment now, they would arrive, to bring about the babe to a crèche.

Even she knew she wouldn't be allowed to keep her baby, either by circumstance or by family. She was only fourteen, and yet she was already with child. She was the only child, and when they realized of her transgression, she was disowned by her wealthy family for it would tarnish the family name. She hears the doors to her room slide open, and the sound of a walking stick slightly tapping against the floor filled her ears. She looked up from her child and saw the Grandmaster of a proud order visiting her. Accompanied by a dark skinned human, who looked way too strict for someone who belonged to what was supposed to be a compassionate order…

"Greetings to you, young Sarkeena."

"Please, my family disowned me Master Yoda, the name Sarkeena no longer holds any meaning to me." She says and holds her chin up proudly. She may be a disgraced child from a wealthy family, but bearing this child and not giving into abortion was one she would uphold proudly. "I go by Skywalker now." His green ears twitched as he listened on to her, and walked closer, bringing a chair closer to the side of her bed and sat on it with ease as he looked upon her child…

"Hold your child, can I?" she nodded and handed her baby gently over to the Jedi Master, "Hm, strong with the force, this young one is." He said and looked over his shoulder, as his companion drew closer, "Already shows signs of power, she has." He didn't inquire about it, he already knew, "If child not force sensitive, go where, would you?"

"Anywhere." She replied, "I am not welcome in my own home, so I'd rather make a new one, where we are welcomed." She then looked at her child, "But of course, to be able to support us I'd have to travel farther out, to the Outer Rims. No one in the Republic accepts child labor. There are laws for that."

"To do so would expose you, and your child, to slavery." The dark skinned Jedi states for the first time, and she looked at him with strength one would not find so easily in a fourteen-year-old mother…

"One I would gladly accept if I could allow my child to live." She stated, accepting readily the hardships of life. The Jedi looked at her with a stern gaze and outstretched his hands, asking for her to do the same. She did so, and he held her palms for a moment, feeling it, before letting it go…

"You have soft hands young Skywalker, to lead a life of a slave would be very difficult for you." he stated plainly, and she knows she knows nothing of a hard day's work…

"So is bearing through disappointed stares from family, carrying a child at fourteen out of wedlock, and giving birth to it with only me to raise it. But I never back down from a challenge Master Jedi. I am young, and I am flexible, I have much to learn, and much to live. I may be disgraced, but I have dignity and pride. People may enslave me, but not my spirits. That is who I am, and that is what I shall impart to my dear Shmi." She stated defiantly at them, while holding out her hands to take hold of her child once more. Master Yoda gave the baby back to her, and he watched as she rocked the baby softly to sleep…

"No contact of the child after taken in by the Jedi, know of this, do you?" the little green master asked her and she slowed to a stop and let out a resigned sigh…

"If you could give her a better life than the path we're supposed to take, then I would gladly release all my claims to her as her mother." She looked at the Jedi, "I only pray you let her keep the name I've given her."

"Do this, we shall." Master Yoda told her

* * *

Already, at a young age, Shmi Skywalker was proving to be quite the prodigy among many other talents. As for her mother, well, she never inquired, and she never got any information about her other than the Jedi Council provided her a home somewhere far from her. She was what one would deem as the perfect Jedi. She was compassionate, strong in the force, fast learner… and detached. A perfect Jedi indeed. Not even the great masters of the Order have a stronger attachment to her than the other…

They were all equal to her.

She continued to grow up, respected, and well disciplined, obedient and a hard worker…

She was knighted and was soon assigned to different parts of the galaxy to help the different life forms, but one day, she and her old master never came back.

The Jedi Order had given out search and rescue missions from them, but most of them were a dead end, just remnants of a trail that had gone cold. They were about to give up the search, but one last tip, to an abandoned place in Korriban did they found the decaying body of Shmi's master, and the unconscious form of Shmi Skywalker herself.

They were soon brought back to the temple, and though they did report the whereabouts of the ambush, the Jedi Order did not say everything they found out during their thorough investigation. After master and knight had been returned to the temple, the master received a proper funeral, while Shmi had been brought to the Jedi Medical center.

They found no other wounds or indications of any form of violence upon Shmi's person aside from a couple of bruises and some force-numbing drugs. For three weeks Shmi had gone under surveillance, until the med-droids noticed something odd…

For some reason, they're picking up another form of life coming from within Shmi.

The Jedi checked again, and again, but no signs of any form of rape or sexual activity were found, it was soon decided to place the verdict on the child, and Shmi as soon as both are born and conscious respectively. Another week more, Shmi woke up with the news of her master's death, and of her unexpected pregnancy. She was questioned thoroughly and undergone many tests, but Shmi could not give any helpful answer. For some reason, her abduction was gone from her mind, like it never happened.

Nine months later, a baby was born, and the Force had sang a beautiful melody, rejoicing its arrival…

But its birth was marred by the Jedi's fear of the possibility of the Sith's return. No clear answer was still made from Shmi's disappearance and the baby's origin, so the entire Jedi Temple was cloaked with the masters' force to protect the unnatural strength of the force the baby had…

"Could this child… truly be a child of the Force?" one of the many questions the masters had for Master Yoda, but the ancient master had no answer…

"Meditate on this I will." He told them and walked away from them, his gimmer stick tapping on the floors as he goes and stops when he reaches his meditation room. He sits on his stool, crosses his legs, sets the stick right beside him and closes his eyes as he immerses himself in the force…

Brightness. That was the first thing he saw in the Force, it was happy, it was singing in joy, voiceless tunes, but it also held a warning, for what it wasn't clear. He searches for the baby's signature, but it was hard to separate from the force the baby's force signature. Why is it so? He questions the force so, but it flares so brightly, making him stop…

It does not wish for him to question the boy's existence, it mellows out, its sharp tunes lowering to make way for much pleasant music. It makes way towards a single bright light in the force, and encompasses it, but it was not just the light that came, for such bright lights cast darker shadows as well, but the light did not overpower the shadows, nor did the shadows stray from where they should be. They swirled around the babe, the light soon becomes a faceless figure of a woman, and the dark becomes a faceless shadow of a man.

Both figures huddle together in harmony over the boy, like parents would with a child of their own. But this was the Force, how could it create a child? Man and woman reformed into a big ball of light and shadow, dark tendrils spiking up rapidly as sparks of light popped on the ground Master Yoda stood…

"Question no more I will." Yoda said, "Trained the boy shall be, in the ways of the Force." The ball of light and shadow soon dispersed into the background, and Master Yoda was no longer in the Force vision, but back in his own meditation chamber. Master Yoda didn't move out of the chair immediately for he was still in such deep thought. The Force confirmed only one question, this child that Shmi had born in the temple was indeed its child, no other force sensitive is as one of the force as the child was…

But that was the only thing it gave to the grandmaster. What the child would bring, it did not say, but great caution must be done while training the child, for it is equally strong with the light and the dark side. One wrong move could tip the child to the dark side…

"Master Yoda." Master Windu called as he entered the meditation chamber, "The Jedi Council is already in the Council room, awaiting for your verdict." Master Yoda nodded and Master Windu bowed and walked away and left Master Yoda alone as he made no move to leave just yet. Master Yoda shook his head and let out a sigh, doubt still filling his mind. He stood up and left the room, but it wasn't to the council chamber he went to right away, but to the crèche of the Temple, where they kept the force-sensitive infants…

Shmi Skywalker had left the child in the care of the Jedi, and she would soon be sent to the Agri. Corp. to supervise all those who had failed to become padawans and help out in the field as soon as she had recovered from the childbirth, but she requested the child to be named Anakin, after her deceased master.

When Master Yoda arrived, Anakin Skywalker was left alone, levitating the objects around the room to his own delight. Master Yoda chuckled lightly and came closer to the crib, the objects were swirling uncontrollably, only when Yoda used the force, did they stop and was brought back to their respective places. The baby soon started to squirm in frustration that someone would stop him, but paused as soon as Master Yoda came into view. It stared up at him with bright blue eyes, curiously staring at the new being, "Anakin Skywalker hmm, think what do you, of your doing hmm?" he asked softly and the baby giggled and held up his arms, wanting to touch the funny alien…

"Strong in the force you are, left untrained, dangerous you would be." Yoda mused to himself and touched Anakin with the Force soothingly, the baby squirmed a bit before letting out a cute yawn and soon drifted off to sleep…

When the Jedi Council started, Master Yoda had told the Council about Anakin and the Force, the masters voted for the boy to be trained, but separately from the others, and the secret of the chosen one was kept among the Jedi Order, no other outsider would find out, and the search for the Sith began.

* * *

"Master Yoda," a three-year-old Anakin Skywalker called out to the Jedi grandmaster as he was leaving, "Why can't I be with other kids?" Anakin asked as he practiced his levitation skills on directing the different pieces to its respective places all at the same time. The pieces went back a little shaky with their proper places as Anakin faced the grandmaster…

"Different you are," Master Yoda told him, "Control yourself well, you could not yet." He told Anakin, "Once this you master, only then can you join others."

"But what if I take too long?"

"Then long it will be, before able to join others you can." With that Master Yoda left the room, and the door slid closed. He didn't see how Anakin's eyes shifted to the HoloVid of other children in the temple learning, eating, studying, sleeping together. He didn't see the tears shed by Anakin as he watched in silent longing to the other children of his age. He was too young to know, too young to understand why he was dangerous. All he felt was that he was alone…

* * *

"Fix your stance boy," Master Dooku corrected a four-year-old as he held the training saber in his hand, going over the basics of Form I, "We've been over this a few times already, you should have learned by now." He said as he circled Anakin in the master's training room, "Master Yoda thought it best it's time for you to start training with a lightsaber, and a lightsaber is…?" he trailed off, wanting the child to complete the sentence…

"A Jedi's life?" he asked for confirmation, and the expert duelist looked at the child with narrow eyes…

"You sound unsure young Skywalker," he said, "Is that what you would tell your adversaries? Show the Sith uncertainty?"

"No master."

"No indeed, say it with pride Anakin," Master Dooku said, "A Jedi takes pride in his work, but don't take too much, remember twice the pride…"

"Double the fall."

"Double the fall." Dooku repeated and held up his own training saber, "Now, again!"

* * *

"He gets stronger every day," Master Windu tells Master Yoda as they walk side by side the corridors of the Jedi Temple. Master Yoda nodded and let out a sigh, "Is something wrong?"

"Master the Force, the boy has not yet." Yoda said, "Progress, though fast it is, slow it is still. Chosen One, the boy is, Force cleared it years ago, but too much passion I sense in him still."

"Perhaps it's time for him to join the others, make him realize early on that people can leave even at the most unexpected times."

"Dangerous he is still," Yoda said, "To others, and to himself." He tapped his gimmer stick, "Isolate him a little more, we will."

"I don't think it's a good idea Master Yoda."

"These misgivings of yours, what are they?"

"We isolated him from Knight Shmi Skywalker, yet we allowed him to keep the name given to him by his mother, and his grandmother. He's still connected to her."

"As to our parents, we are." Yoda countered, "Fear him, you do. A child he still is."

"But we found the remains of Anakin, and the unconscious, yet pregnant Shmi in a place where Sith once reigned. You saw Anakin's body, it was the wounds from a lightsaber." Windu said, "If the child truly is the Chosen One, then he is equally dark, as he is equally light. A single misstep is all it will take to tip the balance."

Yoda knows of this, many times has he meditated, asked why there is such darkness around someone so young, but there is also so much light, as expected of someone conceived by the force. But clouded, the boy's future remained. "Answer, the Force will not, question more about the boy's existence I will not. Here and now the boy is, train him better we will."

* * *

"Blast, lost again." Obi-Wan mumbled to him as he obviously took a wrong turn in the restricted areas of the temple. Not many were allowed to wander off without the guidance of their master, but he wasn't looking at his master when he was in awe at the simple yet magnificent hallways. Tall and wide, yet plenty of stools everywhere, fit to sit on when in meditation. It also had a giant fountain in the middle of the hall, adorned with plants to decorate the place. The Force pulsed strongly, and the next thing he knew, he was alone in the great hall.

He tried using the Force to locate his master, but somehow, it stops here in this deserted corridor. It was quite dark, and yet, Obi-Wan could feel a sense of foreboding, a secret…

He wasn't dumb, the masters were hiding something, and at one time, he heard his master slip at what it could possibly be it was that the masters hid. He was one of the master and padawan tandems sent to look for the fallen Master Anakin and his knighted padawan Shmi, and actually found them. He was horrified by what he saw at Master Anakin's body; scarred lines all over the body, amputated limbs, and of course, the tell-tale signs of electrocution, yet there was no power, nor any indication there had been a massive evacuation.

Qui-Gon said something about the possible return of the Sith, and more investigations were done in secret, but there was another matter the Jedi Masters kept viciously to themselves…

The birth of the chosen one.

Speculations circulated, but none were confirmed, but Obi-Wan was curious…

" _ **Master, why is Knight Skywalker going to the Agri Corps? Wouldn't it be better for her to stay within the temple? What if her abductor comes back?"**_

" _ **The moment it comes to that again Obi-Wan, we'll be ready."**_

" _ **Ready for what?"**_

" _ **The return of the Sith" he answered, "After all, it wouldn't be too far now, with the chosen one's birth and all."**_

" _ **Birth? Chosen One?" Obi-Wan repeated, "Who?" Qui-Gon looked at him for a moment before shaking his head…**_

" _ **Never mind that Obi-Wan, we've got some diplomatic mission to attend to."**_

Suddenly the wall opened, or a hidden door, he didn't know, and out came a five-year-old boy. His blonde hair was messy, and he had a sleepy look on his face, and yawned, while holding an empty glass in his hands. Rubbing the sleep in his blue eyes, he didn't notice someone was in front of him, as soon as he did, they both stopped and stared at each other.

Obi-Wan didn't know what to do, nor why an initiate was in one of the restricted areas, assuming the young boy was lost Obi-Wan approached him and crouched down to his level, "Hello young one," he greeted, "I'm-"

"Obi-Wan." They both turned to the source of the voice, and Obi-Wan sighed in relief that it was his master and not someone else. "Padawan, what have you been up to?"

"I apologize master, I got lost, and found my way here." He looked back to the boy, and Qui-Gon took a good look, it was Anakin Skywalker. "Well, should we not be going? I'd hate to get lost again." Obi-Wan looked back to Qui-Gon, ushering the boy gently to follow them, who opted to remain silent.

"We should get going, but he shall stay." Qui-Gon said and Obi-Wan paused, "Isn't that right, Anakin?" Obi-Wan paused and looked at the boy, and really looked at him. But not with his eyes, something tells him not to, and he searches the Force to answers of this boy's identity, and sees the raw power, the raw energy of the Force, swirling like a dark cloud with bursts of light. Never had Obi-Wan felt someone as strong as he in the Force…

"Yes Master Jinn." Anakin answered and looked up at Obi-Wan, taking in the new face. It was his first contact to someone else in the Jedi Order that is not a master, and yet somehow, he felt like he knew who this person was. Obi-Wan just stared, but as he looked into the five-year-old's eyes, he saw something he thought he wouldn't see in any Jedi, initiate or master…

Loneliness.

"But Master I don't think we should leave." Obi-Wan said and looked at Qui-Gon, "He's just a boy, surely he'll need some company."

"Obi-Wan, he needs to train, you need to train." He stresses, but even so his will to leave the boy alone was waning. Raising someone in isolation is never a good thing…

"I promise we will both train together." Obi-Wan swore and turned back to the boy, "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi." He reached out his hand…

"Anakin Skywalker." The boy replied and took it. Qui-Gon didn't know what he felt, but something that day assured him, it would be alright…

* * *

"Dangerous, what you did was." Master Yoda reprimanded Padawan Kenobi for his stunt in the restricted section of the temple, and by 'stunt' they meant his interaction with the boy. Padawan Kenobi refused to look at the masters, knowing full well that they disapproved of his actions. Qui-Gon let out a sigh and interjected for his padawan…

"If you will Master Yoda, how was Obi-Wan supposed to know, when we explicitly decided to keep the boy's identity, or rather, existence amongst the masters and a few selected knights? Perhaps if we expose the boy-"

"You forget that we separated the boy due to his unusual strength in the force." Master Windu interjected, "And his power is still not yet fully in his control. The council had deemed it best to separate his training with the rest, knowing he must learn to control it at the earliest opportunity possible lest he put others, especially himself, in harm's way."

"Not to mention the possibility of the Sith returning," added Maste Ki-Adi Mundi, "Master Anakin's death is still a mystery, along with the abduction of Knight Skywalker five years ago. The father of Anakin, Shmi's son, might possibly be a Sith, and might want him back."

"But surely if he is the Chosen One-"

"Then all the more reason there is to protect the child." Master Windu said, Obi-Wan remained silent, but plenty of his questions were answered, but still, plenty more replaced the answered with unanswered ones. The boy, Anakin Skywalker, was the fabled Chosen One, whose birth signifies great chaos to which he shall bring balance to the Force. The return of the sith, but from where? How would they find the Sith? Would they truly be prepared? What would happen to the boy?

"A secret, remain the boy must, until council deems fit to present him." Master Yoda decreed, "Padawan Kenobi, speak of this to anyone, you will not. See the boy, you will not. Dangerous it is to form attachments, lead to the Dark Side it could."

"Masters, if I may," Obi-Wan started, his questions fueling him more than his respect with the council, "If the boy truly is the Chosen One, then why would you fear him so?" Obi-Wan wasn't blind, more importantly, the Force wasn't blind. Qui-Gon almost chuckled out loud by the sudden frankness of his padawan, knowing him to be more of a perfect jedi than he, but he commends Obi-Wan silently for pointing that out to the council. "Shouldn't you trust in the Force that it knows what it is doing? Plenty of times I hear you lecture us to let the Force do its work, but you are constantly trying to control the boy. Is the boy not a child of the Force, therefore part of the Force as well? Surely the boy must at least have a sense of normalcy."

"Normal the boy is not." Master Yoda corrected and Obi-Wan nodded in agreement…

"True, I've felt his strength in the Force, despite being a novice compared to you, but shouldn't that be all the more reason to let him have a sense of being a normal initiate when he still can? A chance to understand the world around him better instead of being taught he has the weight of the world over his shoulders at such a young age?"

"Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon called out, and his youthful padawan turned to look at him, "Enough young one." Obi-Wan realized he probably overstepped with his questions, must have implied unknowingly that the Council was wrong. He bowed respectfully to the masters, humbling himself before them…

"I apologize masters, my curiosity have gotten the best of me." He told them and they all nodded, signifying they accept…

"Qui-Gon's defiance, I sense in you." Master Yoda stated, giving Qui-Gon an amused look, "But point you have, young Kenobi. Until then, our counsel you must keep." He finalized and Obi-Wan nodded. "Dismissed you both are." Both Qui-Gon and his padawan bowed and left the council room, leaving the rest of the masters pondering about Kenobi's words and questions…

"The boy does have a point." Master Windu said as he recalled the questions, "Perhaps, we should allow the boy to be trained as the others have been."

"An excellent negotiator he could be, Qui-Gon's apprentice," Dooku added, "But I stand by our previous decision, the boy cannot be trained like the others, he is simply too advanced for his own age group."

"Indeed, it would create animosity between him and the other initiates." Added another Master. As the council debated on and on, Master Yoda closed his eyes to convene with the Force, asking it what the boy's future would bring, but both light and dark side just floated around them aimlessly, not moving in a certain way to allow interpretation, both light and dark just molded together like a bunch of colors mixed together, but the Force started to shift and form into images…

Sand… dessert

A young monarch…

Qui-Gon and Padawan Kenobi…

Shmi.

A cloaked man kneeling in front of darkness…

Master Yoda opened his eyes and tapped his gimmer stick, "The counsel we will keep, until deem it otherwise will I." Master Yoda said as soon as the masters died down their arguments. "Clouded the boy's future still is, but a danger he will not be, if correct guidance we give him."

And though Master Yoda did not exactly know the significance the things he saw in the Force, he knew that the things the Force showed him key pieces to solve the mystery of one Anakin Skywalker.

.

.

.

 _And I know, I know, I'm supposed to be updating In the Milky Way: Soldier Down, but I have got MAJOR writer's block on that story, and all the rest, this one was the only one that was spinning my writing gears, so I really appreciate it if you guys tell me what you think about this story, what you expect, because honestly, this story's future is as clouded as Anakin's future in Episode I as Yoda stated. And I know you don't want to hear any more excuses for not being able to update the other stories, but college is really stressful right now, and I won't delve into the details, but yeah, I needed to get my head straight, and I probably still won't be updating for a long while…_

 _Hoping for your long patience, and thank you so much!_

 _Hpnarutardsjedipirate1234_


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: okay, so I may or may not have been amused with some of the reviews, but yes, fear makes people do crazy things, even Jedis my dear readers, that, and I needed Anakin to be a little bit of an anti-social kind of kid, it works with my future plot, as far as I can tell, the isolation. Anyway, we will get into more on why the Jedi Council deemed it fit for the moment to isolate Anakin for a little while, away from the rest of the group, and hopefully I can fully rationalize it as well, despite Obi-Wan voicing out the opposition of my thoughts…_

 _Anyway, hope you'll enjoy this chapter…_

* * *

 _ **A Twist in the Tales: Birthright**_

 _ **Chapter 2**_

 _ **Out in the Open**_

* * *

It's been nine years since Master Anakin had joined the Force, Shmi Skywalker thought as she helped process the different Jedi initiate on their tasks. Her mind often drifted to what her son would look like. She never held him, nor did she set her sights on him. After giving birth to him, she fell into unconsciousness, and when she woke up, the masters need not tell her what would happen to her. She already knew. She remember telling other Jedi who had born children the same thing. No contact, and will be reassigned elsewhere they cannot make contact.

It's funny how she used to think it was a normal thing, to feel detached, but never had she felt so detached until the day they told her she was reassigned to protect the initiates in the Agri Corps., facilitate their everyday lives. Ironic how she realized she was quite fond of kids and wanted one of her own…

Or at least, the chance to raise her own child. Projecting her sadness through the force, a fellow Jedi had approached her, "Is everything alright Shmi?"

"I had hoped I would forget," she started softly, "But it seems like absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder." She didn't need to elaborate, this Jedi was just one of the few that got reassigned due to an offspring produced…

The only difference was, she wanted the child, met the child…

"I am sorry. I'm sure Anakin is an excellent boy." Shmi smiled and the Jedi nodded and turned away, leaving Shmi alone in her thoughts…

She never did tell them that Anakin was the child of the Force, nor that he was probably half a Sith as he was half a Jedi. Suddenly there was a tingling sensation at the back of her neck, and she knew she was being watched.

* * *

"The boy has grown quite strong, and smart for one his age." Dooku said to Master Yoda as soon as he had asked how the boy was…

"Still, he lacks some control." Interjected Master Windu, "But yes, he has come a long way in a short amount of time."

"Focus, he lacks still, but control over the Force, he has mastered fully." Master Yoda finally said, "Time it is."

"Time?" asked Master Windu and Dooku, too, looked at his old master as well, but Master Yoda did not care to elaborate more…

"Summon Qui-Gon and Padawan Kenobi we will." Master Yoda said, "Summon the boy we will."

"So soon?" asked Dooku, clearly not convinced it was time…

"We should have done it years ago," Master Windu said, "I, for one, agree to this."

"But to let Qui-Gon be his master? He still has Kenobi, let me be the boy's master."

"No, Qui-Gon be the master, will not. Young Kenobi, chosen by the Force he was. Knight he will be. Ready he is."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Master Windu, projecting his worry through the Force. Master Yoda, looked at both masters and tapped his gimmer stick towards them…

"Told me the Force, years ago, it did. Kenobi, the boy will go to. Kenobi, the boy complete his training with." He said it so that made it clear there was no room for arguments. "Now, decided on a trial, I have. Need for Anakin, this does."

* * *

"Master, where are we going?" Obi-Wan answered as he walked side by side with his master, on the way to the Jedi Council, "I can't seem to recall doing anymore that could earn an audience with the Council."

"Don't say such nonsense Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, "It's probably my doing and not yours." He looked at his padawan and winked and they both shared a laugh. Obi-Wan can't seem to shake the feeling that something was off. Master Dooku himself was the one that contacted them, summoned them. Usually it was one of the padawans or a Knight, but no it was Master Dooku. Something tells him this was a big assignment, and he needed to keep his head straight and focused…

They soon arrived, and Obi-Wan felt a familiar presence in the room, but he couldn't quite comprehend to whom it belonged. Stretching out his senses all the more, a flash of a boy of five-years-old appeared to him for a split second. Anakin, he thought, what was the boy doing in the council? Now that Obi-Wan realized, the room was heavily guarded, protected by some force wall…

"The council guards something." Qui-Gon said, as they waited outside for the guard to motion them in, "But what it is I cannot tell." He told Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan stared at his master and back to the closed doors. Was Anakin just some sort of wishful thinking? If so, why was he thinking about the boy? True, he had often wondered how the boy was faring, but it never made him think or feel the boy was just around the corner. And how come Master Qui-Gon couldn't sense Anakin if the boy really was present, when he can?

The guard soon motioned them in and they both stood in the council, and Obi-Wan could see Anakin dutifully standing beside the grand master. "Greetings to both of you we do." Master Yoda started, "Curious, to summoned you have we?" he asked, sending a knowing look to Obi-Wan…

"The question has crossed our minds a few times." Qui-Gon answered truthfully, "What can we be of service to?"

"Met Anakin, you have Padawan Kenobi, remember do you?"

"Yes masters." Obi-Wan answered, looking at the boy, who seemed more like a robot than a child. There was no emotion on his face, even his mental shields were steadfast in place. Never had he seen one so young achieve such a shield…

"Decide on a perfect trial we have."

"Trial?" Qui-Gon asked almost immediately. The words haven't even sunk in yet, when Obi-Wan realized what it meant, they were making him a knight! A jedi knight! "Thank you for deeming Obi-Wan ready." QUI-Gon said, projecting his gratitude and the other masters nodded.

"Trial for you, to go to Naboo, negotiate you will, as ordered by Chancellor Valorum." Master Yoda started, "Guided by Qui-Gon, you will be, but bring Anakin you shall." Master Yoda said and motioned the boy to step forward a little, "Keep the boy safe, and identity secret. If do this you can, pass the trials you will."

"A secret?"

"You must hide the raw power the boy has, and keep him in check. He already knows the basics of a mental shield, but his presence he cannot yet fully mask. We need you to cloak his force presence during the entire mission lest the Sith find him and worse, take him as one of them." Master Windu elaborated. It was obvious that the council was nervous, just as Obi-Wan was on being in charge of the boy. Obi-Wan at best was still getting into trouble himself, so how was he supposed to take care of another?

But perhaps that was the test, to be fully responsible for himself, and be able to protect what is truly needed to be protected. "I accept the trials Masters. I will not disappoint you."

"Dismissed you are." Master Yoda said…

"May the Force be with you." added Master Windu.

* * *

They had already boarded the ship, and still Obi-Wan didn't know how to even talk to the child, who, for the most part, was just staring at him. "You'll pass Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon said as he came up beside him, "Besides, Anakin's a good boy. The council had trained him well."

"Too well." he mumbled and approached the boy and took a seat in front of him. It was only moments ago that he probably realized that the boy never stepped foot outside of the Temple, and felt a pang of pity, but understood the misgivings of the council about exposing the boy…

"You'll pass." Anakin said and Obi-Wan let out a small smile…

"Thank you for the boost of confidence." He said and Anakin just stared at him...

"No, you will pass." He insisted, his face not morphing into any other emotion aside from impassiveness. Obi-Wan leaned in, curious, as did Qui-Gon…

"Well, how do you know?"

"I've seen it." Anakin said as a matter of fact, then turned his head to Qui-Gon, "Did you say goodbye? I think you should start, you don't have much time left." Said Anakin and Obi-Wan looked at his master then back at the boy…

"Why do you say so?" asked Qui-Gon at the boy…

"Because you'll die by the time the mission is over." If it had been just anyone, Obi-Wan would have brushed it off and never speak to that person again, but this was Anakin, the Chosen One of the Force, not to mention there are only a few Jedi around that the Force shows the future to, so why couldn't Anakin predict the future as well?

"Do you know how?" Obi-Wan asked, concerned for his master's safety…

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon warned, but it seemed like Anakin was taught to say everything he sees and hears as well, if not a little _too_ well.

"The Sith kills him." And the three of them had gone on the rest of the trip trying not to let Anakin's words bother them. A sith? Obi-Wan looked at his master, wanting to tell him to go back to the Temple, have someone else be accompanying them…

" _Relax young one."_ Qui-Gon said through their bond, _"Always the future is in motion. Remember that."_

" _But why would the Force show such a thing to the boy?"_

" _Perhaps it is a warning, or a signal that my time has come. Either way, there is nothing else we could do. Remember, one often meets its destiny on the path he takes to avoid it."_

" _Yes master."_

" _**Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, please proceed to the cockpit immediately."**_ Qui-Gon's comm. link sounded and Qui-Gon moved to follow, while Obi-Wan was about to stand up…

"No Obi-Wan, stay." Qui-Gon said, "Your mission lies with Anakin." He finishes and Obi-Wan sits back down, to accompany the boy. As soon as the door slides shut, Obi-Wan looks at Anakin once more and deciphers what he should do while on this mission: keep Anakin close to him at all costs; not let him wander off; for Force's sake, interact! The boy doesn't seem to know that the way he looks is a little bit downright creepy, with no emotions or whatsoever. He knows so far that the boy is excellent with his mental shields, but whenever he tries to get a grip on the boy's emotions…

There was none at all. No fear, no anticipation or whatsoever.

"You're thinking." The boy suddenly speaks, and Obi-Wan nods awkwardly, not knowing how he could convince the boy to not be a droid. "I'm no droid." It was a defensive statement, Obi-Wan knows because he thinks he feels a little annoyance with the boy. This gets Obi-Wan thinking, was the analogy between him and a droid so common? Is that why he got annoyed? "You ask too many questions."

"And you seem rather talkative." He remarks back, and for a moment, he thinks there was a small movement on the corner of Anakin's lips, but he isn't too sure, his face was still his usual poker of an expression…

"You project your thoughts loudly in the Force, if a Sith were here on board they would have known your deepest fears and desires already." He supplied in a monotonous voice, "You should at least know how to erect good mental shields-"

"Tell me Anakin," he said, cutting off the boy in a casual manner, which catches him off-guard, seemingly brushing off the implications he doesn't know how to erect good mental shields, "Are you fond of meditation?"

"Meditation is an activity where one immerses himself in the Force; it is a good thing to do when you do nothing."

"Yes, but are you fond of it?" a sense of confusion, the boy, as Obi-Wan sadly thinks, must have just been drilled with what he should and should not do. "How about we talk?"

"About what?"

"Anything."

"It's a pointless conversation then." And Obi-Wan finds that Anakin was done talking for the moment, and lets out a frustrated sigh.

* * *

"How do you think the boy is faring under Obi-Wan's care?" Master Windu asked as he came to sit in the meditation stools. Master Yoda scrunched up his nose in deep thought, as he stretches out his senses as far as he could to detect Obi-Wan's force signature…

"Difficult to see emotions, when concerning Anakin, hides it deeply, within mental shields he does." Master Yoda states, "Learned to release them, he has not yet." Master WIndu let out a soft sigh of resignation, "Concerned I am, that this be undoing of his." Master Yoda adds, "Sith seeks emotions to fuel the Dark Side, use it they will."

"Let's just hope there won't be a repeat of the last time." Master Windu said, and Master Yoda almost shuddered at the memory of the incident when the boy was still just a wee babe, only just a few days old…

Anakin Skywalker was placed among the other kids, in the middle of the night, when only a handful of Jedi sentinels were roaming to guard the temple, there was a huge disturbance of the Force, it flared in warning of a bright light when it turned to a bloody red shade before fading to black. The healers had immediately rushed towards the crèche, knowing the source was coming from there and were horrified of what had happened. Cribs were overturned and disarranged, forming a suspicious circle around Anakin's crib, who was crying relentlessly, when another burst of energy came from the baby's loud wails…

Fortunately, the Jedi healers recovered quickly enough, to stabilize most of the cribs, to avoid further harm, but some were already lost.

Anakin Skywalker was moved to a secluded part of the temple, one where not many Jedi would venture into. It was during that incident that the council decided to isolate the babe until such time it would learn to control the Force around him. Over the past few years, there were still bursts of energy released from the boy, especially when he falls asleep. Every master of the order soon took turns of watching over the boy, day in and day out, ready for anything…

"Ready, I hope, Obi-Wan is." Master Yoda said, "Need him, Anakin does." And just then a running Jedi Padawan came to a sudden halt in front of them almost bumping into them; alarm rang throughout the Force, signifying grave news from the boy…

"Masters!" she exclaimed, and Master Windu rested firm hands on her shoulders, "There- bomb – Agri Corps- gone-"

"Breathe padawan," Master Windu said, "Tell us properly."

* * *

She remembered running towards the other Jedi's, sending the warning signals when the explosions started, something was not right. There had just been pure chaos, when she felt a familiar presence, but where and when she felt it escapes her thought. She knows it was coming for her, and there was a certain kind of fear gripping her very core. She's felt this sensations before, something tells her, it was after her…

It was coming for her, the darkness…

 _Snap-hiss_

It was smoky, the place around her as she searched for more presences through the Force, but she can only sense one, and it was a dark entity, and only the red light was visible from where she was.

 _A Sith!_

And soon flashes of red, her master's scream break through her mind, needles, large ones and yellow eyes invade her mind, making it ache so bad she drops to her knees, shouting in pain…

" _ **Kill him, he's no use to me."**_

" _ **Injection of midichlorians will soon be commencing."**_

" _ **Hush now, you will be part of the greatest experiment in the entire History of the Sith…"**_

"No…" Shmi gasped in pain as the dark user stepped forward, "I know those eyes…"

"Sadly I wasn't around yet when you've met my master." He answered in that baritone voice and tilted his head, "My master wishes to me to bring you before him alive… but he didn't say how." He reached out his hand and started to invade her mind…

Searching for an answer…

"I know why you've come…" Shmi whispered, "You won't have him!" he growled at her and dug in deeper into her memories, and Shmi squirmed, forcing him out by strengthening her shields…

"Where is the child!?" he demanded after giving up on prying her mind and grabbed her through the force by her throat. She gasped, but she was smirking triumphantly at him…

"Away from you and your order…" she spat on him and smiled, causing him to grip her neck tighter, until she passed out. His master still did want Shmi alive.

* * *

"She's in danger." Anakin suddenly said softly, and Obi-Wan looked away from the door for a moment to look at the child, "My mother." Obi-Wan was a bit taken aback…

"Your mother?" he asked, as far as he knew, the boy never met her. "You sense Knight Skywalker?" he comes closer and sits in front of Anakin, who looks up at him with his eyes, before giving a curt nod of the head. "How?" Anakin reaches out a hand and levitates the water from the cup, making it float into a flat plane of a circle in front of them both…

"The Force is a mirror," the child starts, "All we have to do is find the courage to go past the murky waters and test it. Sometimes, when I'm alone, I tap through the Force, and I search for her…" her trails of and touches the center, causing ripples, "It resonates throughout the Force, but though I feel her, she doesn't tap back."

"It's for the best Anakin." Obi-Wan tells the child, "A Jedi is not supposed to have attachments."

"But what are attachments?" his child mind often wondered. How do you know these are the attachments that are wrong? He doesn't say it, he doesn't show it, but every little thing that surrounds him, had felt it. He feels everything. He and the Force are one, except, he's a physical manifestation, therefore he has been limited, but the Force is an entirely mysterious entity. Boundless, and formless, everywhere, and yet nowhere at the same time…

"Anything that makes you connected to someone or something. That's why the Jedi are raised differently than the rest, to provide sound council when needed and a logical solution for the betterment of most, instead of a few."

"But why are you attached to Master Qui-Gon? Why are the council members too attached to the code?" Obi-Wan didn't know what to say about the first question, so he opted not to answer that, and instead skipped to the second, hoping to placate the boy from his connection with his mother…

"Being obedient does not necessarily mean you are attached. Often times, the code serves as a guideline, and guidelines are there to… well… guide you to make sound decisions."

"But how will you know the decision you've made is sound?"

"Well, more people will benefit of it, rather than only a select few."

"So when you take away the babies who were force-sensitive, who's benefitting more?"

"Well, the people." Obi-Wan answered almost immediately…

"But how would you know?" Anakin persisted, and Obi-Wan finds himself a little more unnerved by the passionate questions, yet impassive expressions coming from the boy…

"I think that's enough for the day Anakin." Obi-Wan said and stood up. Master Qui-Gon had returned and he nodded to the both of them…

"Come along now, it's time for negotiating."


End file.
